Tag Archives: spirituality

Epistemic Hubris: Unwarranted Certainty (About Complex Issues)

Posted on January 15, 2024 by JMN

Greek words are a nerd’s downfall. I’m a nerd, therefore felled by epistemic hubris. Whenever I encounter “epistemic,” as in Maggie Jackson’s essay, I have to mentally re-solder its connection to epistemology, which I barely retain has to do with … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology, Commentary | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

‘God, in the Form of Lightning’

Posted on January 5, 2024 by JMN

“Calling myself religious while living a life unbeholden to Scripture doesn’t make sense, of course.” (Temim Fruchter) Temim Fruchter’s essay about her spiritual evolution struck me, another scriptural expat, as full of poetry. I was moved to lift statements from … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged | 1 Comment

‘There Are No Bright Lines Here’

Posted on August 19, 2022 by JMN

Tish Harrison Warren, an Anglican priest, describes a recent baptismal service: Baptisms at our church are a mixture of solemnity and unbridled glee, often full of laughter and tears of joy. Those who were being baptized, or in the case … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Wrath of Divines

Posted on April 30, 2021 by JMN

Like cartooning, the act of translation has proven dangerous at times. For his role in putting Christian scriptures into English, John Wycliffe’s long-dead bones were dug up, burnt, and chucked into the river by order of churchmen. … The act … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A-Theology

Posted on April 20, 2021 by JMN

A poke at Ludwig’s nonsense adumbrates an a-theology that circumvents the mortiferous belch of cassock-and-biretta evangels. There’s an amount of life which abounds so abundantly it’s incommensurate with measurement. It amounts to the livelong life force of aliveness that explodes … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology, Commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Words of a Stabbing Victim

Posted on January 18, 2021 by JMN

On Sept. 20, 1958, while signing copies of his first book “Stride Toward Freedom” in a Harlem department store, Dr. Martin Luther King was stabbed in the chest by a young woman. The weapon, a letter opener, grazed his aorta. … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Joy Hiding in Plain Sight

Posted on November 3, 2020 by JMN

Retired doctor Jeff Kaufman often visits an American elm that escaped the devastation of Dutch elm disease because of its isolation. The 150-year-old tree stands near the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, 95 miles from Egremont, the nearest urban area. … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Amen Thyself

Posted on October 25, 2020 by JMN

Amen Thyself Kids are we of One High God or other.There are no atheists around a campfire.Praise the spook that hankers for a crown. An unborn baby drowned with its mother,Tipped from a rescue boat into the flood.Scream a prayer … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , | 1 Comment

‘Blurred Stupid Dulled’

Posted on October 13, 2020 by JMN

Hilma af Klint inspires a certain perfervid evangelism which is diluted in this article by careless editing. The article cites a beautiful film by Halina Dyrschka about the visionary artist’s astonishing work. The beguiled film maker contracted [sic] MoMA to … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What Makes a Poem ‘Hard’?

Posted on July 17, 2020 by JMN

“Syntax” is the answer to the fudgy question. It’s hard to reach image and reference through muddy syntax. In narrative and exposition, context comes to the rescue; in poetry often not, because a poet revels in flare-gunning lap dance moon … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment